Pilot Projects

The purpose of the Meharry Translational Research Center (MeTRC) Pilot Project Program
is to fund peer reviewed investigator-initiated pilot projects in translational and
clinical research which will develop, energize, and maintain a critical mass of clinical
and translational scientists at Meharry Medical College.

The specific aim of the program is to increase the quantity and quality of translational
and clinical research projects at Meharry Medical College and enhance the competitiveness
of Meharry's clinical and translational research investigators in securing extramural
research funding.

We are able to achieve this specific aim by developing and disseminating internal
Requests for Applications (RFA), soliciting for pilot investigator-initiated translational
and clinical research projects.

One major impediment to translational and clinical research is the difficulty in determining
whether the idea has any real merit once applied to the human model. Frequently this
preliminary evaluation lends itself to the format of a pilot project. Furthermore,
most National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant application mechanisms generally require
some, if not substantial, preliminary data in order to compete and receive serious
consideration.

Such data can be generated via seed or pilot project funding program without the major
time and fund investment in a full project, and without exposing research subjects
to unnecessary long and potentially risky clinical trials.